For me, self care isn’t selfish. It’s essential to you being the best version of yourself, for you and for others around you. If you’ve ever watched an airplane safety demo, in the event of the cabin air supply failure, you’re instructed to put on your own oxygen mask before anyone else’s You have a much greater chance of helping others if you aren’t about to pass out yourself!

It’s not always easy in our busy lives but I truly believe that I am a better mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and teacher thanks to the investments I make in myself. Here’s my tips for integrating a little bit of self-care into your day this week with some of these tips.

#1 – Do one thing you enjoy today.

Read a book, listen to your favourite music, go for a run, do yoga, get outdoors. Whatever helps you to feel great, carve out at least 20 minutes today to do it.

#2 – Go to bed at least an hour earlier.

Set a fixed time to be in bed by tonight that’s one hour earlier than normal. Then, from that time, work backwards an hour and commit to switching off all screens by that time. An hour or more of not looking at your phone, watching TV etc gives your brain a chance to slow down so that you can fall asleep more easily.

#3 – Connect with a loved one.

Give someone you love a great big hug. Arrange coffee with a friend. Pick up the phone and chat to someone you’ve lost touch with. The art of conversation is often lost in a world of social media, emails and texts.

#4 – Meditate for 5-10mins today.

If you’ve never meditated before it is simply sitting down, closing your eyes and breathing. Thoughts will inevitably pop into your mind. Notice they’re there, like birds in the sky overhead, and then let them pass and return to focusing on gently breathing. To download my free short guided meditations and tips click here.

#5 – Make time for a mindful meal.

Have at least one meal today quietly paying really close attention to how it looks, how it smells and then tastes in your mouth. Notice colours and textures. Consider the journey that meal has had before it ended up on your plate. Did someone grow something? Have you or someone else spent time carefully putting ingredients together to be enjoyed?

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1 Comment

Thank you for the great tips.
My thoughts are that there is so much emphasis today on being successful, having multiple streams of income, having a creative voice or presence on social media, developing or working on oneself to be the best version of oneself, etc … which are great things in themselves. But how can we possibly create the time and the mental space to have an harmonious life (a perfect life?) without feeling the stress or feeling it is not good enough. After years of trying hard, I have realised that letting go of perfection and finding who I truly am rather than following a model are part of the process.
And of course we are all different with our own traumas and karma …